Hiking the Katy Trail

We have been fortunate to travel to many exotic locales, but sometimes overlook the beauty in our own backyard. On our regular treks to Michigan, we drive along I-70 through Missouri. Western Missouri is not particularly picturesque. However, as we traverse the center of the state, we always note a lovely area around Rocheport. Not long ago, we discovered that it is a trail head on the Katy Trail, the largest rails-to-trails project in the United States. The Katy Trail is associated with Lewis and Clark's journeys, and stretches from just west of St. Louis to Clinton (near Kansas City). We spent a lovely weekend hiking along the trail. Photos and comments follow.

Rocheport is a charming small town, reminiscent of western Michigan lake towns. Its main claim to fame - aside from hosting the 1840 state Whig convention - is the trail. We snapped the above photo in the park near our B&B. Note the sign on the ladder that looks like one of the many climbing toys.

Just west of Rocheport is a fantastic old train tunnel, a remnant of the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas railway (the Katy) that cut through central Missouri. The tunnel was clearly carved out with explosives and shored up by bricks and mortar.

After a short hike on our first day, we retired to the B&B's backyard hammock where Carter read us a book.

We began our second day early in the morning and planned to hike around 12 miles. In the end, we hiked 8.6 miles. Carter was especially a trooper on the long walk. He catalogued the wildlife that we encountered, tallying 168 frogs and toads (1 dead), a deer, a couple of squirrels, and many varieties of bird.

While walking along the trail eastward, the Missouri River (the "Big Muddy") was on our right, and the tall bluffs were on our left. We had spectacular views of both.

Close to Rocheport, a stream emerged from the rocks of a bluff. We cooled our hands and faces traveling in both directions. We really needed it coming back - it was a typical, steamy August day.

We found other surprises along the path. Somewhat hidden from view was this cave, with a brick entrance probably constructed by railway workers a century ago.

In the more distant past, native peoples drew petroglyphs high on the bluffs. A few remnants remain - you can see the red "swoosh" in the center-left of the photo below.

While the trail is popular, we had many quiet moments alone as a family. We took several breaks to rest, snack, and admire the scenery. We especially enjoyed the wildlife, some of which is captured below (including toad #1).

Our trip to the Katy Trail was a rousing success. We plan to return in the fall to see the trail when the leaves are turning.

Summer Visits

While our original plan for a trip to national parks in South Dakota was scuttled by Erik's call to jury duty, we enjoyed a brief visit to Michigan. While in Michigan, we picked up our niece Amelia for a Kansas adventure. Various photos and comments from summer excursions follow.

Carter and his cousins posed for a moment. The picture was in honor of their grandparents' 50th anniversary.

Unlike his dad, Carter loves playing in the water. He is a regular at the city pool, but in Michigan a sprinkler substituted.

An avid gamer, Carter plays a matching game with his cousins. He has many favorites at home from the simple (like Uno - see below) to the complex (like Risk).

After fun in Michigan, we hit the (long) road for Kansas. Carter and Amelia had a few sessions at the Lawrence pool during the hot days, participated in a Dog Days workout, attended the final Lawrence City Band concert of the season, and visited several parks and museums in the region.

Amelia listens to the city band above. While the concert was lovely, the most exciting part was the firing of cannons and launching of fireworks during the grand finale.

Carter learns how to fire the WWI-era howitzer.

Amelia gets in on the action, too.

We visited two National Park Service sites - the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and Brown Vs. Board of Education. The kids both earned Junior Ranger badges at each site.

During Erik's Sunday hockey game, Lea, Carter, and Amelia strolled through Deanna Rose Farm in Overland Park, Kansas. This city park has many animals, and a model one-room schoolhouse. Amelia dons the dunce cap above.

Amelia has a great appreciation for art - especially contemporary abstract art. Here she seeks out a different perspective on a piece at the Spencer Museum of Art at KU.

Above and below, Amelia interacts with sculptures at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City.

We stopped for lunch at the original Winstead's, where Erik's dad Thomas worked the malt machine back in the summer of '45. The story from Tom is that Winstead's had to be closed on V-E and V-J days to prevent revelers from trashing the joint.

Council Grove was the last stop on the Santa Fe Trail before its eponymous end-point. We passed through it along the route to the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and stopped for photos and dinner. The monument above honors women who led pioneer families on their journeys out west.

Small monuments to Native Peoples and pioneers dot the rural highways.

During our various trips, we took several nice shots of nature. Some were snapped by Erik, some by Lea, and others by Amelia. Erik took the butterfly above and lizard below.

Amelia took these great photos of the snake above and buffalo below.

Amelia also captured this insect on a sunflower.

Our final image showcases other temporary visitors to the tallgrass prairie. Cows from Mexico covered the landscape, enjoying the nutrient rich grasses before their less pleasant stay at feedlots in the western part of the state.